Enjoyed By `Young' & `old'

UCONN MEN'S BASKETBALL

Huskies Meet In Pickup Games

June 11, 2006|By MIKE ANTHONY; Courant Staff Writer

STORRS — Gampel Pavilion was virtually empty, the bleachers folded up and the season five months away. Still, there were glimpses of the future of UConn basketball in a series of three-on-three pickup games last week that pitted the ``young guys'' against the ``old guys.''

Doug Wiggins, the 5-foot-11 guard from East Hartford, finished the opening game with the kind of creativity the coaches hope can compensate for the team's inexperience. Out of room and seemingly out of options with Rob Garrison guarding him, Wiggins dribbled through the lane and zipped a no-look pass to Gavin Edwards for a layup and an 11-9 victory.

``One-nothing, young,'' Wiggins said.

The old guys -- Garrison, Jeff Adrien and Mike Evanovich, younger brother of UConn graduate assistant Justin Evanovich -- would come back to win three of five games against the young guys -- Wiggins, Edwards and Stanley Robinson. Adrien iced it as if he had something to prove, taking a pass from Garrison and fending off Robinson for a layup, then hitting a jump shot over Robinson for an 11-6 victory in Game 5.

``Game time, baby,'' Adrien said.

The value of a 90-minute workout such as this one, although conducted without coaches, goes beyond breaking a sweat. Garrison and Adrien are on campus having taken summer classes. Edwards and Robinson, two of eight players to sign letters of intent, were in Storrs on visits. Edwards had never seen the campus and Robinson wanted to pay a second visit. Both arrive for good with the rest of the freshmen in July. Wiggins tries to get to campus a couple of times a week.

``Any familiarity with your teammates is helpful,'' associate head coach Tom Moore said. ``The more times you're in the gym and it's halfway competitive, it's helpful.''

The matchups: Wiggins against Garrison; Robinson against Adrien; Edwards against Evanovich, who played at Iowa State last year and is looking to transfer to Loyola or Fairfield.

Wiggins is lightning quick yet controlled. Displaying a soft pull-up jumper, he penetrated well and was smooth with the ball. Garrison, knowing he'll have his work cut out for him with Wiggins, A.J. Price, and Jerome Dyson joining him and Craig Austrie in the backcourt, continues to get stronger and looks better equipped to handle the physical nature of the Big East, but he'll have to make more jump shots.

Edwards, a 6-9 forward, is skilled near the basket but needs to put on muscle and be more assertive in a crowd. The 6-6 Adrien looks stronger and more versatile and is embracing the role as a leader of a team with eight freshmen and five sophomores.

``We've got to take guys like Stanley and get them ready for the season,'' said Adrien, a sophomore. ``In high school, there aren't guys like me guarding them.''

Robinson, a 6-9 forward, appears as well-rounded and talented as advertised.

If the entire team was on hand, Robinson would have been guarded by Marcus Johnson, whom he will battle for the starting small forward spot. Instead, he got a face full of Adrien.

``He's so strong,'' Robinson said. ``I keep saying it's about work ethic, and I need to get better in all areas.''

Seeing Wiggins create and Robinson do so many things was a reminder of how different it might be next season. Coach Jim Calhoun has lamented not having a playmaker beyond Marcus Williams last season. But with Austrie and Garrison having a year of experience, Wiggins, Dyson and Price on the way and Robinson able to do so much, that should change.

``When a team would trap Marcus in the full court, invariably Marcus was throwing it to a forward,'' Moore said. ``[The forwards'] ball-handling was OK, but their seeing the next man open wasn't always there. It was always a forward trying to play the two guard. We were the anti-Villanova. But I'm sure there were days when [Villanova coach] Jay Wright would have liked to have been like UConn. That's what made our matchups with them last year so fun, because we were mirror opposites of each other.

``We softened up defensively the last seven games or so last year. But what happened I think is that we had a few lapses offensively, where things didn't come as easy for us. And when you're flowing offensively and everyone is scoring easily, there's that much more excitement and attention to detail on defense.''

Garrison and Wiggins went head-to-head, as they will often.

``He's a savvy player, skilled,'' Garrison said. ``He plays under control. Usually guys short and fast, they are just fast, fast, fast. But he knows how to change speeds and he does things guys his size don't normally do. That's what sets him apart. It's good for us. Instead of one player, Marcus Williams, out on the floor who can break people down, we're going to have multiple players who don't need a pick. When all else fails, we have guys that can make something out of nothing.''